We decided to stop at this particular curio shop (above) because we liked the look of it - especially the roof !
This curio shop, like many in the area, had a huge collection of Tinga Tinga artwork for sale (along with traditional red Maasai blankets - which you can see to the left)
I saw this delightful pink & white bougainvillia mix growing outside the shop, & just had to take a photo of it ....
To give you an idea of Tinga Tinga artwork on other surfaces/items, here are a set of Tinga Tinga coffee mugs which I've had for years now. Aren't they lovely ?
On our recent safari we did a little curio shopping as the area we were in was on the main tourist route (road to Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti National Park) and as a result, has an abundance of curio shops to choose from. These shops all feature similar items like beautiful Makonde wooden carvings, local Maasai & Kitenge cloths, beadwork jewellery, items carved from stone and a very distinctive form of Tanzanian art knows as “Tinga Tinga”.
Tinga Tinga is a form of art which originates in Tanzania. It originated from a man by the name of Eduardo Tingatinga in the 1960’s and his unique technique has been passed on to many people since. (I believe that he was originally from Mozambique, but made a name for himself in Tanzania).
Enamel bicycle paint is usually used to create these paintings, which consist of bright, bold images of African birds, animals, people, rivers, vegetation and local scenes (Kilimanjaro features quite prominently in several Tinga Tinga pieces).
Aside from Tinga Tinga paintings which can be mounted on a wall, you will also find Tinga Tinga art decorating tiles, tin tea pots, mugs, trays, dishes, bowls & greeting cards – to mention just a few items !
The photos above show one of the curio shops which we stopped at. We decided to stop here because we liked the design and the roof of the building, and I had also spotted (from the main road !) a mix of white bougainvillea growing there which I wanted to take a closer look at, because white bougainvillea is not that common in the West Kilimanjaro area where we live.
Whenever we are traveling & staying in tourist areas here, we are often stopped by people because of our daughter. Very young children in tourist areas are uncommon here & of course people wonder how/why we have brought her to such a remote place on holiday because she is still so little - so they always stop to chat to her/us ! Of course once I explain that we live here, the interested person/s usually start asking lots of questions & this is what happened at one of the curio shop stops on the day these photo's were taken. I don’t mind at all, as I always enjoy talking to new people and find it interesting to hear about the countries they come from, too. (I’m always mistaken as an Australian because of my accent – it apparently sounds very Australian …?! “G’day mate !”)
I got chatting to an American man at the one curio shop we stopped at, who asked me how old my daughter was, and said that he had a daughter of a similar age at home who his travel agent had advised he leave behind as she was still too young for a long African safari. So this is how the conversation started … he had come to Tanzania with his brother and his nephew, and they had all just climbed Kilimanjaro (and made it to the summit !) and were celebrating with a quick 3 day bush safari before flying back home to San Francisco (which sounds pretty exotic to an African like me !)
People are always amazed that we actually live here, and how we live here and without exception, every tourist I’ve ever met, comments on the beauty of the country and the wonderful people. Which I think helps to explain just a little bit, why we have chosen to make Tanzania our home !
